Gremlin
by CindyChamiAngel
Summary: On a flight back from Anchorage, Dean falls into a deep sleep and encounters a gremlin and his worst fears.


Gremlin

Help I'm steppin' into the twilight zone  
The place is a madhouse  
Feels like being cloned  
My beacon's been moved  
Under moon and star  
Where am I to go  
Now that I've gone too far  
Soon you will come to know  
When the bullet hits the bone  
Soon you will come to know  
When the bullet hits the bone

Twilight Zone, Golden Earring.

* * *

"You sure you're OK with this?" Sam asked. Dean nodded too quickly. "Really, Dean, because..."

"Sam..." Dean warned and glared at his brother out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm just asking because you crushed your earphones."

Dean looked down and looked at the crushed plastic earbuds in his hands. They had been ripped down the center of the cord and the wire had snapped. He sighed and rubbed his face.

"Maybe if you sit by the window?" Sam offered.

"Oh, yeah, Sammy, that's a fine idea. That way I can see use launch into the air and then plunge flaming to the ground."

The stewardess leaned over next to him. "Sir, you're frightening the other passengers." She offered.

"Sorry. I don't fly well."

She smiled indulgently and reached in her pocket. "I'm not supposed to do this but would you like a Xanax?"

"I thought those were only free in first class." He smiled. She grinned and put one in his hand and walked away. Sam motioned to the pill and handed Dean his soda.

"It's going to be fine. This is a short flight, only a few hours." Sam offered.

"I'd rather drive." Dean muttered.

"Well, you can't drive back from Anchorage because you didn't bring your car. Jody needed us immediately. Sit back and be quiet." Reluctantly, Dean took the pill and swallowed it.

"Did Cass tell you about the errors in the math in the wings and how these things only fly because Chuck thinks their cool?" Dean said groggily.

"Yes, Dean and the honey bee union and how strong it is."

"Don't let anyone take advantage of me." he said to Sam and leaned back. As he heard the plane engine whine and felt the forward movement of the plane.

Across the aisle a little girl looked at him. She seemed nervous and clung to a stuffed animal. She eyed Dean warily. He looked back at her gravely.

"Did I scare you?" He asked and she nodded.

"Well, see the problem is I forgot my Teddy Bear. Can I borrow yours for a minute? I always get nervous without a teddy on a plane. They're good luck." He offered.

She looked at him for a minute and surrendered the animal. He hugged it into his neck for a long minute. He kissed it as he handed it back to her "For luck." he said. He smiled at her as bravely as he could. She smiled back.

"Don't be nervous. If you need to borrow Dag again, just ask." She said sweetly in her cute little girl voice.

A moment later he was asleep.

* * *

Dean woke in black and white. His brain didn't register it, but he did register the suit jacket he was wearing and felt the choking tightness of the tie. He loosened it and looked around. Beside him was a pretty woman in a travel suit with perfect make up, dozing, snoring lightly.

He looked up and the stewardess wasn't the hot blonde that had ruffied him but rather a brunette with a neat, heavily coiffed hairstyle and a gray uniform. She leaned over and spoke quietly.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Wilson?" She asked with a tolerant smile.

He nodded. "Where, where am I?"

"You're still on the plane. Just rest, we'll be landing soon and you'll be safely on the ground. You gave us quite a scare. Your wife almost made you get off the plane."

"Wife? My..." He looked at the woman next to him, saw they were wearing matching rings.

"I'm sorry, I..." Just then he heard a noise outside the window. He turned… he was in the window seat, and there, on the wing in the driving rain he saw a man… he turned and looked at him but it's wasn't a man it was something else, something...monstrous.

"OK, this is going to sound crazy, but there's something on the wing of the plane..." Dean offered.

"Mr. Wilson, you've been through a lot in the last year. Your wife..."

"Look lady, I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I'm not this Wilson guy, she ain't my wife and there is a monster on the wing of this plane." He said as calmly as he could. His palms were slick with sweat and he was pretty sure he's be vomiting soon, but considering, he was doing fairly well. well.

Her smiled didn't change. The woman beside him roused. She glared at him.

"Robert?" She muttered and grabbed his hand.

"Mr. Wilson. You're frightening the other passengers." The stewardess said, calmly.

"Well, considering there's a freakin monster ripping wires and stuff out of the wing maybe they should be scared." He growled. He noticed that several people glanced out the window. Some of them leaned back and shook their heads.

"Robert, please. sit down. I have some more of your medicine..." the woman beside him offered.

Just then the plane hit some turbulence and Dean keeled backwards into his seat.

"Whoa!" He said and turned, looked out the window. The monster was back and looked at him. It smiled and pulled something else out of the wing.

"You son of a bitch!" Dean growled and reached for his pistol. He found nothing. As if knowing there would be nothing, the beast gave him the finger.

"Mr. Wilson! Language!"

"Robert, please you're embarrassing me." Said the woman beside him. He turned on her and leaned over a little.

"Sorry? There's a monster on the wing pulling stuff out and you're worried about a little embarrassment? Because at worst, I'm a crappy flier and with the rain and the turbulence, I'm thinking the monster is a little too much. Friendly skies my ass."

""Mr. Wilson!" came a male voice. He turned and saw the co pilot. "Sir, can we talk man to man?"

"I doubt it. Whose flying the plane?" Dean asked alarmed.

"The pilot. Everything is fine, But if you don't sit down…" he leaned in and showed Dean a hypodermic needle. "I'm going to have to sedate you. Now, can you just take your seat?"

Dean looked around and saw all the angry, terrified eyes. He swallowed deeply and nodded. Sweat dripped down his neck. The co-pilot leaned over and closed the window.

"Just let me use a phone." Dean said. They looked at him as if he had a third head.

"In a plane?" His wife asked.

"You know, sky phone, cell phone, a phone!" Again, blank stares.

Then he noticed. The styles of dress, the hair, the ladies make up.

"Oh, crap!" He said and leaned back into his seat.

* * *

Sam watched his brother sleep. He could tell he was dreaming, and not pleasantly. The stewardess came by and he flagged her down.

"What did you give him?" He asked in a worried whisper.

"Xanax. A very small dose."

"He's out cold." Sam said. She felt Dean's pulse. She shook him – no response.

"Hang on." She said and disappeared down the aisle.

"Dean, Dean, wake up." Sam said and patted Dean's face. His brother didn't respond.

The stewardess returned with the co-pilot. The man leaned over. "Is he OK?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't know. He looked like he's dreaming."

At that moment the plane buckled under them, pitching the stewardess and the co pilot into Dean and Sam.

* * *

Dean looked at the shade that had been pulled over the window.

"We could change seats." The woman said but he shook his head.

"You don't believe me." He said. "What's your name?"

"Julia Wilson." She offered, acting hurt.

"Well, Julia, my name is Dean. Dean Winchester." He took her hand and shook it.

"OK, funny, ha ha." She offered sarcastically.

"Rob as good taste, you're kinda hot." He offered. She grinned and snuggled into him.

"You're not bad yourself." She said.

He tried to distract his mind, but he couldn't. He reached over and threw open the shade and there on the window was… nothing. Just the driving rain and occasional flashes of lightening.

"Well?" Julia asked.

"Not out there now." He groused. "If I had a computer..."

"A what?" She asked.

"What year is it?" He asked her suddenly.

"Well, silly, it's 1963!" She replied and smiled at him.

"Of course it is. Nothing helpful here at all." Dean said.

"Oh honey, just lay back. We'll be home soon and you can just relax."

"Yeah, sure." he glanced out the window and it was back. "Look, look look!" He said and pointed out the window.

"Oh, Robert…."

"Look, damn it!" She glared at him and leaned out the window, just as the creature jumped under the wing with remarkable strength and agility. "Holy shit!" Dean muttered.

"I don't see anything and I don't like this potty mouth you've developed."

"Well, if you'd do as you were asked. No wonder this guy had a nervous… How did I know that? This Robert guy had a nervous breakdown, didn't he?"

"You were under a lot of stress..."

"The Twilight Zone. I'm in a freakin' Twilight Zone. What kind of monster is that?" He said out loud.

"What are you talking about?" She began.

"It's a gremlin. It can be killed with bullets. Just regular old bullets."

"You're worrying me."

"It's OK, I'm crazy, but not about this." He went back to looking out the window.

* * *

Dean convulsed. Sam reacted immediately and held his brother down to keep him from hurting himself. He turned his head to the side.

The co-pilot and stewardess struggled to get up, found their footing. Another passenger stood up and moved toward them.

"I'm a doctor." The man said and they moved back to let him get to Dean.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Kimball. Has your brother been ill?" Dean slowed his thrashing and relaxed. Sam shook his head. Dr. Kimball opened Dean's eyes. "His pupils are dilated. Does he take drugs?"

"No, just pain killers when he's injured. He did have a Xanax, you to know calm him down. He's a nervous flier..." The stewardess looked guilty.

"I got that." Kimball offered. "Xanax didn't cause this. Head injury? He doesn't seem to be running a fever..."

"Not recently." The doctor looked at him. "We're in law enforcement, bounty hunters. You know the hazards of the job..."

Behind them another man came up.

"I'm the Air Marshall, everything ok?" He asked.

"Yeah," The pilot offered. "He's ill but we have a doctor."

The Air Marshall nodded and returned to his seat, but kept an eye on them.

Kimball nodded and looked at the stewardess. "How long til we land?"

"Two hours?" She offered and looked at the co-pilot, who nodded his assent.

"Fine, we need to stabilize him and monitor him." Just then the doctor turned Dean's head and saw a huge bruise in the back of his head. When they pulled his head forward they could see it was in the shape of a hand, a long, wicked hand with pointed fingers and scratches they told a tale of long, sharp fingernails.

"What the..." They all said in unison. The co-pilot turned and went back to the front of the plane.

* * *

The turbulence was getting worse and Dean was shooting his scotch now. The stewardess kept an eye on him but it didn't matter. He knew how this was going to end.

He could hear the wife and the stewardess talking behind him. They were talking in a stage whisper.

"I've never seen Bob drink that much." The wife said.

"I've never seen anyone drink that much." The stewardess replied.

He chuckled at that and looked back out the window. He searched his mind for what he knew about gremlins.

First, they were mythical. At least in all the lore he'd ever heard. Second, they were part of the WW2 mythology, with foo fighters and angels over battle fields. And you could shoot the little bastards. That was important. But he'd have to get to it first and that was an issue. Other then explosive decompression, there was metal and safety glass between him and his quarry, and if he didn't do something soon, that monster wouldn't stop until he brought this plane down.

Dean held up his glass and shook it, tinkling the ice in the glass and the stewardess dutifully brought him another mini bottle. He twisted the cap and shoot the amber liquid out of the bottle.

Outside, the gremlin appeared again. It climbed deftly out onto the window and perched on the engine. Before it set to it's work, he turned to glance at Dean's window.

This time, however, Dean was ready. He'd had time to think, to formulate. Panic, he realized, was his enemy in more ways then one. If he could convince the others he was settled, calm, they would be less of an issue when it came time to get down to business.,

And the Gremlin? Well, he was business.

Dean caught the monster's eye and smiled. At first it seems confused. There was no terror, no fear and it frowned. Then Dean pointed to his eyes with his first two fingers and then to the monster.

It's face became noticeably more troubled. He undid the buttons on his shirt and moved the cloth out of the way, showing it his demon protection tattoo. It's eyes grew wide and it scowled, moved quickly toward the window and hit it with an audible "thump".

"So, you know what I am? I know what you are, too." He said as it glared at him through the window.

"What was that noise?" He heard behind him. The Gremlin let out a screech and everyone heard it, looked around frightened.

"Mother of God!" He heard another passenger say. "What is that?"

The stewardess leaned over Dean and looked out the window.

As she did, the Gremlin turned, ran to the engine and began to furiously rip out wires. It was a breathless minute and suddenly the engine flared, sputtered and the rotors stopped turning.

Dean leaned into the window and the plane twisted in the air and the lightening struck illuminating the scene on the wing in a dreadful limelight. Chaos erupted in the cabin, with people screaming and the stewardess falling into the aisle. Julia fell, too.

"I will end you!" Dean said loudly enough to be heard.

The creature once again gave him the finger and then vanished under the wing.

Dean looked back into the cabin of the plane. He reached over and helped the stewardess right herself.

She looked at him in horror.

"Told you so." He said.

* * *

Dean was stable. Sam looked at Doctor Kimball and the stewardess. "What's your name?" He asked her.

"Sally." She replied and smiled a little.

"OK, I need to tell you guys something and I'm not sure you will believe me. "

"Well, considering the circumstances, I'm in for anything." Kimball said.

"My brother and I aren't law enforcement. We're hunters, we hunt monsters and I think there is a monster on this plane."

"Monsters?" Sally asked.

"Demons mostly, Vampires, werewolves, the occasional Vetala."

"Vet..." Sally muttered, confused.

"So, what do you think this is?" Kimball asked.

"So… you believe me?" Sam asked?

"Let's just say this is weird and the jury is out. What are we dealing with?"

"I have no idea. A djinn? But this would be the weirdest djinn ever. They deal in dreams but not like this."

"Never?" Kimball offered. "Forgive my open mind but a few minutes ago I didn't believe in monsters so I suspect absolutes don't apply here."

"Touche." Sam offered.

"What are you talking about? How can you accept this!" Sally seemed to be getting agitated. Sam grabbed her by the arms and steadied her.

"I need you to keep your head about you. I can take care of this, but I need you to help me keep everyone calm. Can you do that?" He could tell from the panic in her eyes that this was questionable but she was willing to try. That would be enough, he hoped.

Sally stood. "I need to get the drink service out." She said in a stage whisper and walked to the back of the plane.

"So, how do we find this monster, this djinn?" Kimball asked.

"I'm not sure that's what it is. I mean, it doesn't feel right. Let me make a call. Take care of Dean will you?"

Kimball nodded and Sam leaned back, took out his phone and dialed Castiel.

The phone rang twice and then Cass picked up. Sam heard a heavy metallic grinding in the background and Castiel shouted into the phone.

"Sam? Sam can you hear me?"

"Cass?" There was no response, but then the sound began to recede, Cass was moving away from whatever was going on."

"Can you hear me now, Sam?" Cass asked in relative silence.

"Yeah, where are you?"

"There has been a fatality at a local car junk yard. Very gruesome. It seemed interesting so I am doing an investigation. Dead bodies in the cars that are being crushed… Exsanguinated.."

"Vamps?" Sam took a deep breath and tried to sound calm. He didn't want to freak Castiel out.

"My thought. But perhaps something darker..."

"Where are you?"

"Here in Lawrence. I thought with it being so close to home it bore looking into."

"Yeah, good call, keep me in the loop. Um, I have a question. Can you think of a monster that makes you have bad dreams, makes you unconscious…"

"That would be odd behavior for a Djinn but not unheard of. A changeling maybe?"

"I hadn't thought of that. I can't really burn anything. Besides, this is rapid onset."

"Where are you?"

"We're on the plane back from Anchorage. Jody sends her regards." Sam offered.

"I hope her conference goes more peacefully now. Is everything resolved? How is Dean holding up on the plane. He didn't take the news about the mathematics very well."

"Yeah, it was a Wendigo. But in a sort of urban setting. Weird, hun? Dean's… unconscious."

"Beg pardon?" Castiel barked.

"We got on the plane and he was fine, the stewardess gave him a Xanax because, you know, Dean. Anyway, I dozed off and when I woke up he was out cold. He looks like he's dreaming and he had a nightmare. He convulsed once."

"I will return to the bunker and see what I can find. I'll call you back. How long until you get here?"

"Two hours. Can you meet us at the airport?"

"Will do. And Sam, trust no one." Cass offered.

"Yeah, Winchester protocol number 2." Sam said with a wary nervous grin.

Sam turned back to Kimball and his brother.

"How's he doing?"

"Fine but it's weird, he seems like he's in REM sleep, but he has been for a long time. It's… weird. To paraphrase Alice "curiouser and curiouser".

"Yeah." Sam looked across the aisle at the little girl and her stuffed toy, She looked really worried.

"Is he going to be OK?" She asked. Her mother was dozing bedside her.

"Yeah. He'll be fine, he's tough." Sam offered, giving her a confident look. He hoped he was right.

* * *

"What is that thing out there?" Julia asked.

"It's a gremlin." Dean offered.

"I knew it, I knew they were real!" A male passenger from the rear of the plane said.

"What, you've seen these things before?" Dean asked and the guy stood up.

"Yup. I flew a bomber in the war. Saw one but my commander said I was mental, shell shocked. But I knew it."

"Do you have anything helpful to add?" Dean asked. The guy shook his head. "Then sit down."

"So, what do we do?" the stewardess asked Dean.

"I have to be able to get to it to shoot it, if not, it's going to try to bring the plane down. Just a regular old bullet will do the trick." He said. There was a lot of panicked murmuring.

"How are you going to do that?" Julia asked.

"Well, in the original… I got to open the door so I can get a shot at it."

At that moment there was a scream from the other side of the plane. Dean leaped over the aisle and leaned out over the woman who was still screaming. He looked out and saw the Gremlin standing on the wing.

He looked down and saw that the woman had fainted. "Do people really do that?" He asked no one in particular.

"Well, how are you going to get to it. If you open the door..."

"Yeah, decompression. Look, how long before we land?" He asked.

"An hour, I think." The stewardess offered.

"Fine, we need to get ready. Who has the gun?" Dean looked around and no one moved. "Look, I know there's a guy on this plane with a gun. Airline security or something."

A man in a suit stood up. "I'm a cop and I'm not handing my gun over to you just because you say you know what you're doing." He said.

Dean sighed. "Look, pal. I don't have time to argue."

"Seems like you got all the time in the world. You're a guy who had a nervous break down. I didn't see this thing. Could be mass hysteria." The guy pulled his gun and pointed it at Dean. "Now, everyone settle down. Lightening struck the wing, and this guy's crazy talk has everyone upset..."

"I saw it, too." Said another guy.

"Are you sure it wasn't a trick of the light? I said, sit!" The guy pointed the gun at Dean with some authority. Dean raised his hands and sat. "Now, everyone relax. We'll be home in an hour and this guy can get some help."

* * *

Sam turned back from the window and the little girl was standing next to Dean. The stuffed animal was resting on Dean's chest. Sam smiled.

"Thanks, sweetie." He said. Just then her mother woke.

"Deidre, get back in your seat and leave those men alone." She said to the little girl.

"It's OK." Sam said with a smile. "Don't forget your friend." he said. She picked up the toy and went and sat in her own seat. "I have a little girl myself. Well, she's not that little anymore. Teenager." He offered.

The woman nodded to him and smiled. "She's a sweetheart, always trying to help people. We were in Vietnam, visiting my brother and she rescued this little guy from the lobby of our hotel." The mother motioned to the stuff animal.

Dean jerked in his sleep again and Sam jumped, held his brother down.

"Is he ok?" The mother asked.

"Oh, yeah."

At that moment Kimball came back with a bucket of ice and a towel. He looked at the mother. "Head injury. Sometimes they take a little while to give symptoms. We'll get him to the hospital." He offered and the mother leaned back, looking relieved.

"Oh, good. I hope he gets better." She offered and cuddled her daughter closer. Again, the mother dozed off.

"So, anything from your friend?" Kimball asked.

"No, not yet. We should be landing in an hour or so. He's more restless then he was before."

"Well, if it is a head injury and not a monster, this altitude isn't helping him. We should Ice his head just to be sure, you know?" Kimball said. Sam nodded. Behind them he heard murmuring. He looked over the seat back and met a pair of angry eyes from the man behind him.

"Can I help you?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, we heard you and your brother think your some kind of crazy monster hunters and he has some kind of tropical disease..."

Sam looked at Kimball. The doctor cleared his throat.

"Where did you hear a crazy thing like that?" Kimball asked.

"The stewardess..." The guy said and Sam noticed several other people glaring.

"Ah!" Kimball offered. "Well, the truth is, this guy had a head injury and she gave him a Xanax. Bad combination. Maybe she's trying to cover her ass, you know?"

The guy looked at Kimball for a minute and finally nodded. There was a resolution in the doctor's voice, a steadiness and control that made people follow him, believe him.

He turned back to Sam and spoke quietly. "So, suspicious?"

"What?" Sam asked and his mind went into overdrive. "You thinking she's spreading rumors to distract us from investigating her?"

"If I were a monster, that's what I'd do. How do we check her out?" Kimball asked.

"We can try the usual stuff, Silver, salt, holy water."

"You have those?" Kimball asked.

"Yeah. I'll go check her out, you watch Dean." Sam said. He got up and Kimball took his seat.

* * *

"You are making a big mistake, buddy." Dean said again.

"I said shut up!" The cop said. Everyone was watching the drama between Dean and the cop intently.

"Why don't you come over here and make me?" Dean snarked.

"Keep running your cake hole and I just might."

"Mine's a pie hole and I know something." Dean offered.

"What's that, ya booze hound?"

Dean stood and turned to the cop, took a quick step forward and grabbed the gun out of the cop's hand.

"Not even you are stupid enough to fire a gun in a plane." And he punched the cop in the face, knocking him out.

"Robert!" Julie chirped.

"Mr. Wilson!" the stewardess added.

"OK, once and for all, I ain't Robert. I'm Dean. Does Robert have one of these?" Dean pulled back his shirt to reveal his tattoo. Julia looked at him, startled.

"No, no, he doesn't. You're..."

"I'm Dean." And the edges of reality fuzzed, the veil of sleep dropped, for a just a minute.

* * *

Sam leaned into the service area. The stewardess was sitting there, looking haggard. She looked up at Sam and gasped.

"You scared me!" She said.

"Yeah, and you're telling the passengers stuff." Sam said. She looked at him, a flush of guilt dancing across her cheeks.

"I mentioned it to the TSA. They must have over heard me." She offered. He nodded.

"Well, humor me." he said and held out a silver medallion. "Touch this." He said. She reached out and touched the medallion, no problem. He nodded and grabbed her hand, poured some salt in it. Again, nothing. He sighed and took out his flask, dashed some water in her face. She gave him a dirty look, but no smoke.

"Was that necessary?" She asked.

"Sorry." he offered.

"Well, am I cleared?" She asked.

"Mostly. I'm still not sure what I'm dealing with but you're not a demon or fairy." He said.

"Fairies are real?" She asked, her eyes widening. "When I was a kid I had a fairy friend. Everyone told me I was crazy, but..."

"Um, yeah, I need to get back to my brother." He turned and walked down the aisle, took his seat next to Dean after some juggling with Kimball.

Dean's eyes fluttered open.

"Sammy!" He gasped.

"Dean, Dean, are you OK?" Sam said, desperately.

"No Sammy, Gremlin. Nightmare at 30,000 feet..." Dean said and then he fell back into slumber. Sam looked at Kimball.

"Why is that familiar?" Kimball asked.

Sam thought for a long moment. "Twilight Zone. Bill Shatner. The Gremlin." Sam said.

"Yeah! I remember that one. So, it's a gremlin?" Kimball asked.

"I don't know, I've never seen a gremlin. I thought they were myth."

* * *

Dean woke again in his seat on the plane. He had the gun, the heavy steel comforting in his hand. He wiped his face and stood.

At that moment someone else yelled. Dean leaned over and looked out a window and sure enough, it` was back. This time it didn't bother trying to hide from them. They all looked out the windows in horror.

In the distraction, the cop woke and shook his head, saw everyone looking out. He stood and moved up behind Dean, raised his hands in a karate chop, and then, his eyes strayed to the window.

"Oh, my God." He uttered.

"Told you so. Wow, twice in one night. I'm getting good." Dean offered.

"So..?" the cop asked.

"Everybody buckle up. It's about to get bumpy up in here." Dean said and moved to the back of the plane.

* * *

Sam's phone rang and he picked it up.

"Sam." Castiel said into the phone.

"Yeah, did you find something?"

"I'm not sure. Does he have any marks on him?" Sam had trouble making him out through the static.

"Yeah, a hand print on the back of his neck. And scratches."

"Sam, it's a..." The line cut out.

"Damn it." Sam said. The little girl was looking at it. "It's OK. I have a swear jar at home." The girl looked at him and nodded, appeased.

"So?" Kimball asked.

"I think he figured out what it is but we got cut off." Sam offered.

"Hum, maybe it knows what you're doing and is trying to protect itself." Kimball offered.

"Yeah..." Sam said and suddenly it occurred to him. Kimball was pretty suspicious. He accepted all this with ease. He was putting things in Sam's head. Sam eyed Kimball. The doctor looked back at him, nonplussed.

"Go ahead, test me." Kimball offered and smiled. Sam touched him with silver and then poured salt and holy water on him. Nothing.

"So, either you're clean..." Sam said.

"Or whatever it is isn't affected by all the usual." Kimball offered.

Sam nodded.

"What if I promise you I'm not the monster killing your brother?" Kimball offered coolly.

"You're my only friend here, so I guess I have to accept that." Sam replied.

The stewardess came back, looked at them both with a hurt expression. "We're landing in ten minutes." She offered. They both nodded.

"Thanks," Sam said. She nodded and slipped away.

* * *

"OK, ready? Everyone locked in?" Dean asked. There were nods and a cacophony of assent. At that moment, Julia undid her belt and ran to him. She threw her arms around him and kissed him deeply.

"What was that for. Not that I'm complaining." He said.

"Being a hero. I mean, if this is a dream, why not?" She said and he smiled. He kissed her again.

"Why not?" He replied. "OK, now, you go and sit down and stay belted in. In a minute, I'm going to open this door and the masks are going to drop. Put them on your face and breathe. Stewardess, did you tell the pilot?"

She nodded and buckled her seat belt.

"Everything locked and secured?" he asked. Again, she nodded.

He found a handle on the side of the plane and wrapped his arm around it.

"On three." He said. "One!"

"God speed!" Someone said.

"Two!"

"You're a hero!" He heard Julia say and he smiled.

He once again felt the sweat on his palm and realized he was about to open a maw to his deepest fear. In one second he was going to do the stupidest thing he'd ever done, throw open the door of a moving plane, and airborne plane.

"I do not believe I am doing this." He muttered and sighed deeply to clear his mind.

"Three!" He threw open the door and the wind sucked at him immediately. There was a scream and he couldn't tell if it came from inside or outside. It was the air rushing by at 300 miles per hour and the sound of fear, cold and palpable from inside the plane.

His eyes teared up and those tears seemed to freeze his eyes shut. With some effort, he opened them, it was only part of the pain he felt. His arm, the muscles tore and groaned under the weight of the suction pulling him out the door, the cold made his muscles ached. His mind screamed that this was insane, but he was committed now.

Outside was the monster, glaring at him, seeming to mock him and looking down he could see the Earth below him, like a tiny little Christmas village in a store window. Panic crawled around in his brain and he threw up, the vomit freezing almost before it left the plane.

He closed his eyes and thought about something else, about fending off Vamps and killing Lilith and hanging out with Chuck and Castiel. Somewhere, deep inside he found one final reserve of strength and opened his eyes.

The creature was next to him and panic suddenly became his friend. In a knee jerk reaction, he raised the gun and pointed it at the creature. He pulled the trigger and it squealed, looked at him, incredulous.

A moment later it lost his grip and slipped away, but with a flap of it's awful wings came back at him and grabbed him, pulled him free of his hand hold and flung him, flailing into the sky.

Dean was in free fall. His heart raced.

* * *

Again, Dean convulsed. Kimball was there this time to help Sam hold him down.

Out the window, the Kansas City Airport looked below them as the plane made it's final approach. Dean twisted under their hands and Kimball undid his seat belt and slipped into the aisle to kneel down and get a better grip on Dean and hold him still, keep his airway clear.

Breathless minutes passed as Dean let out a low, ominous groan.

"Is he..?" Sam started to ask but Kimball shook his head.

"Not on my watch!" The doctor offered.

The other passengers watched in gripped suspense as the drama unfolded. The silence was tense. Across the aisle, Sam caught the terrified glare of the young girl.

* * *

Dean was falling. His mind had frozen, blank and quiet. There was something beginning there. It was calm.

An idea began to form. More a realization, really. He looked around at the gray world, the gray clouds and the antique plane above him. He looked down on the city below him, becoming closer and more resolved with every second.

Firm Earth lay beneath him waiting to catch him, to end his fall forever.

But, was it firm? He remembered Sammy, the color in that world and that meant…

He was dreaming.

"Wake up. Wake up. Come on Dean, Wakey wakey, Eggs and Bakey..."

He felt his eyes flash open and felt the wheels of the plane beneath him make contact with the ground. He saw Sam leaning over him and a little girl watching him with concerned and kind eyes.

Everything was in color.

"Don't you ever say the words fly or plane in my presence again, do you understand me?" He hissed.

Sam smiled and nodded. "You got it."

Kimball smiled at them both. Sam's phone rang and he answered.

"Cass?"

"Sam, it's a Dag Tsog, a Hmong Demon. It looks like a stuff animal with claws."

"How do I kill it?" Sam asked quickly, looking at the stuffed animal in the little girl's lap.

"Bring it out, I have what we need. Just grab it."

Sam stood and leaned over, grabbing the little girl's toy. She looked at him in horror until the little creature moved and tried to scratch Sam with it's long claws. Then she shrieked as only little girl's can, waking her mother. The thing writhed and growled in Sam's hands. Dean jumped up and grabbed at it's arms, but he was groggy.

The other passenger's saw this and chaos ensured. A wail ran through the cabin and people started unlocking their belts and trying to flee in the crowded cabin.

The Air Marshall leaped up, drew his gun and looked at Sam, then at the beast. It growled at him and it's eyes turned black and malevolent. He recoiled.

"What the hell is that?" he demanded.

"Demon!" Sam said.

At that moment, a voice came over the PA, a firm, authoritarian sound that got everyone's attention.

"This is you Captain speaking. SIT DOWN. The situation is in very capable hands. Do not Panic. We will be off the tarmac in three minutes."

His comments stopped them cold. They all sat back and watched as Dean and Sam wrangled the monster. Down the hall near the cockpit, Sam saw the stewardess, smiling. He smiled at her and went back to wrestling with the little demon.

"Anyone have something we can put this in?" Dean asked.

The Air Marshall retrieved a cat carried from a lady in first class. A moment later, the Dag Tsog was locked in a little cage and they were at the rolling up to the terminal.

* * *

"You sure you have it?" The captain asked as they stood in the terminal and everyone was debriefed. "I can call someone." He exchanged a glance with the Air Marshall, who shrugged.

"I'm not really sure who we would call. Seems we have the experts here." The Air Marshall offered.

Castiel appeared and walked over, flashing his FBI badge. "Agent Dio." He offered to the Captain and the Air Marshal.

"He's with us." Dean offered. "What you got, Cass?"

"It's a Dag Tsog, a demon from the Hmong people of Asia, China, Cambodia, Vietnam… It enters the dreams and steals the person's breath. It finds the thing in your mind you're afraid of and let's you build a scenario to scare yourself to death."

"How do we kill it?" Sam asked.

"We burn it on a pyre made of Joss."

"Joss?" Dean asked.

"Hell money. It's paper used in Asian rituals. I found some in the bunker."

"So, I guess it's handled." The Captain said.

"Yeah, I know I want to wash my hands of this." The Air Marshall said. They both turned to go and write their reports.

The little girl came over and looked into the cage at what had once been her toy. It took a swipe at her and she let out a little yell. Sam moved beside her.

"We're going to fix it so it won't hurt anyone ever again. Come on, why don't I take you and buy you another toy?" He asked. He looked at her mother who was standing beside her. She nodded her agreement and Sam took the little girl to a nearby gift shop.

Dean looked up and recognized her.

"Julia?" He asked.

"Robert?" She replied. They took a step toward one another when a man came over and took her into his arms. He was short and kind of balding, but seemed nice enough.

"Are you OK?" He asked and kissed her. She nodded and looked at Dean.

"Yeah, Jim, this is … um..."

"Dean." He offered and took Jim's hand.

"Yes, Dean… He's the one who saved us." She offered. "This is Jim, my husband. And I'm Olivia."

Dean smiled knowingly and shook his hand.

"I owe you a thanks." Jim offered.

"Naw, it's all in a day's work for us heroes." Dean grinned.

Castiel came over and reached out to push back Olivia's hair. Dean stopped him and looked at her.

"You were sleeping, we need to check..."

"Oh, yes!" She said, worriedly. She lifted her hair and there was the telltale mark. Cass eyed Dean and Dean nodded, silent communication moving between them. Quickly, Cass healed the mark from the Dag Tsog and let down her hair.

"All clear." Dean offered. Jim looked confused but Olivia shushed him.

Sam and Deidre returned, she was carrying a new stuffed elephant.

"We're sure that's a toy?" Olivia joked nervously.

"Absolutely." Sam offered.

"Well, thank you again." Olivia said and she and her family left.

"What was that?" Sam asked.

"Nothing. Just a dream." Dean replied.

"Ah, where is Kimball?" Sam asked, looking around. He didn't see the doctor.

"Who?" Castiel asked.

"The doctor who helped me. I wanted to thank him, maybe give him my number. He was handy in a pinch..."

"Well, maybe he didn't want a big tadoo." Castiel offered. "Let's go and get rid of that thing."

* * *

They walked into short term parking and looked for the Impala.

"You don't remember where we parked?" Dean groused.

"Neither do you." Sam replied but stopped mid comment. "Oh, no..."

Dean followed his glance and his jaw dropped. The Impala sat, her hood open and wires and hoses pulled out like veins from a corpse.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean said and ran to Baby, surveyed the damage while turning more and more green with anger.

Sam walked over in a daze, Castiel following holding the cat carrier with the Dag Tsog in it. Sam saw a piece of paper and reached over and took it. He opened it.

It was a note.

"Dear Sam,

I'm not, as I promised, the monster trying to kill you're brother. I am, instead the monster who wanted to get a look at the two most famous hunters ever. And you guys are impressive. I didn't think you'd figure it out, but you did.

Anyway, I was going to say goodbye, but when I saw this car, I couldn't resist. Tell Dean I'm sorry and it was delicious. I mean, really, really delicious. Way better then airplane.

Your friend,

Kimball, a gremlin. "

Sam read the letter out loud.

Dean looked at the half eaten engine in disgust. "Son of a bitch!" He yelled, and his voice echoed through the parking garage.

Not far away, cloaked in invisibility, a gremlin burped and laughed and went back into the terminal.

* * *

Bugs Bunny –

Hey, I bet that was a... Say, do you think that... Hey, could that have been a... gremlin?

Gremlin -

[shouting directly into Bugs' ear] IT AIN'T WENDELL WILLKIE!

Falling Hare – Looney Tunes.


End file.
